Winter ended early on the slopes of a popular Northern California ski resort after unusually warm weather and steady rain wiped out much of the mountain’s snow.
Mt. Shasta Ski Park declared its 2025-26 ski season officially over after closing on Tuesday. Operations had already been paused on March 2 as conditions on the mountain quickly worsened.
The resort only managed to stay open for 55 days this season, falling short of its 60-day operating promise tied to its season passes.
Managers on the mountain said forecasts showing continued warm temperatures and no significant storms made reopening unrealistic. Without colder weather, the snowpack on the slopes continued to break down.
The resort uses snowmaking machines across about 44% of the mountain, but those systems depend on freezing temperatures to function properly.
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This winter brought long stretches that were simply too warm to produce artificial snow.
Rainstorms also played a major role in the shutdown. Downpours can quickly destroy a ski base because they cut through both natural snow and the dense man-made snow created by machines.
As storms moved through Northern California in late winter, the base layer on many trails thinned out and became patchy.
By early March, the snowpack had weakened enough that resort officials said it was no longer safe to keep the terrain open to skiers and snowboarders.
Season pass holders will receive a credit because the resort did not meet its 60-day guarantee. The credit will be sent by email as a promo code that can be used toward the purchase of a pass for the 2026-27 season. Those passes are expected to go on sale within the next month.
Other ski areas in California remain open, particularly in the Sierra where snow totals are deeper. Resorts including Mammoth Mountain, Palisades Tahoe and Heavenly Mountain Resort are still operating as the season shifts toward spring conditions.
Skiers there are seeing firmer snow in the morning that softens into slush later in the day as temperatures rise.
